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THE  VOYAGE  OF 

The  First  Hessian  Army 

FROM  PORTSMOUTH  TO  NEW  YORK 
1776 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2006  with  funding  from 

Microsoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/voyagefirstOOpfisrich 


THE  VOYAGE  OF  THE  FIRST  HESSIAN 

ARMY  FROM  PORTSMOUTH 

TO  NEW  YORK 


Heartman's  Historical  Series  No.  3 


THE  VOYAGE 
OF 


The  First  Hessian  Army 

FROM  PORTSMOUTH  TO  NEW  YORK 
1776 


One  hundred  and  ten  Copies  printed  for 
CHAS.  FRED.  HEARTMAN.  New  York  City 


The  following  Historical  Sketch  is  a  translation 
from  the  German  of  A.  Pfister.  It  was  published 
some  fifty  years  ago  in  a  German  periodical  and  is 
interesting  enough  to  be  reprinted  in  English  as  it 
contains  hitherto  very  little  known  details  of  this 
voyage.  At  the  end  will  be  found  an  Extract  from 
the  Diary  of  the  German  Poet  and  Adventurer,  J.  G. 
Seume,  a  Hessian  Soldier  and  Participator  on  the 
Voyage. 

January,  1915 

CH.  F.  H. 


306678 


Number of  110  copies  printed, 

Also  six  printed  on  Japan  Vellum. 


The  troops  belonging  to  the  first  Hessian  Division 
had  as  yet  not  all  been  assembled  in  the  harbor  of 
Portsmouth,  for,  on  account  of  the  lack  of  transport 
ships,  General  von  Mirbach  with  his  regiment  and 
that  of  Commander  Rail,  a  Knyphausen  Company, 
and  a  part  of  the  Commissariat  still  remained  at 
Bremerlehe,  when  the  fleet  was  ready  and  the  wind 
often  long  in  coming,  was  just  then  very  favorable  to 
leave  the  channel.  Then  a  rather  peculiar  circum- 
stance occurred  to  prevent  the  start.  Heister,  the 
Hessian  Commander-in-Chief,  refused  to  start,  feel- 
ing bound  by  the  land  grave's  express  orders  to  keep 
all  his  divisions  together.  The  king  became  exceed- 
ingly impatient,  for  the  delay  set  an  incalculable 
amount  at  stake — at  last  the  Hessian  minister  at 
London,  General  von  Schlieffen,  took  upon  himself 
the  responsibility  of  this  urgent  matter,  and  Heister, 
with  a  spirit  of  true  faithfulness  to  service,  went  over 
with  his  Hessian  troop  ships  to  the  remaining  squad- 
ron at  anchor  at  St.  Hellens  in  the  immediate  vicinity. 

The  fleet  as  gathered  here  numbered  100  sailing 
vessels,  among  which  were  2  men-of-war  with  50 
cannons,  4  frigates  of  36  cannons,  and  2  fire-ships  for 
the  protection  of  the  transports  and  provision  ships. 
These  vessels  carried  in  all  about  12,500  land  troops, 
of  which  the  7400  Hessians  were  distributed  in  52 


ships.  l William  Hotkain,*  £&eir  Commodore,  was  on 
the  man-of-war  Preston.  When  the  ship  captains 
had  received  from  him  the  signaling  directions  and 
their  sealed  instructions  (which  may  be  opened  only- 
after  a  ship  has  sailed  in  order  to  learn  its  desti- 
nation), he  gave  the  signals  to  weigh  anchor  and  to 
sail  by  means  of  a  cannon  shot  and  the  displaying  of 
a  flag.    This  was  on  the  evening  of  the  6th  of  May. 

Very  soon  an  adverse  and  violent  storm  arose,  the 
sea  became  turbulent  and  there  was  much  seasick- 
ness. No  one  could  stand  upright  in  the  cabins, 
everything  was  tossed  about  pell-mell  and  sailors  fell 
overboard  and  could  not  be  saved;  yet  the  fleet  by 
the  evening  of  the  9th  was  sailing  with  calmer 
weather  through  the  dangerous  region  of  the  Scilly 
Islands,  where,  over  a  mass  of  rocks  and  reefs  a 
warning  lighthouse  stood.  After  sunset  the  last 
land  was  seen  to  disappear  under  the  horizon,  the 
promontory,  Landsend.  On  the  next  day  the  cables, 
which  usually  are  on  the  capstan,  were  coiled  on 
deck;  still  greater  waves,  and  more  violent  motions 
of  the  ship  indicated  that  the  vessels  had  reached  the 
great  ocean.  Who  may  be  the  master  of  the  ocean 
was  made  evident  during  the  very  next  few  days  to 
the  astonished  soldiers,  when  a  Danish  and  later  two 
Swedish  East  Indian  ships  were  passing  through  the 
fleet;  these  then  lowered  their  flags  and  a  sail  of  the 
middle  mast,  as  soon  as  they  were  within  the  distance 
of  a  shot.    This  was  the  mark  of  esteem  which  every 

10 


foreign  ship  on  meeting  an  English  man-of-war  or 
squadron  in  the  Atlantic  Ocean  was  to  render  to  it, 
as  indicating  the  recognition  of  Great  Britain's  sov- 
ereignty there. 

A  perfect  calm  had  set  in;  the  great  waves  rose  to 
an  astonishing  height,  and,  although  at  a  time  of 
wind  and  full  sail,  the  vibrations  of  the  ships  are 
lessened  by  the  quick  forward  motion,  yet  in  calm 
the  opposite  is  true,  for  the  ships  were  heaving  and 
pitching,  so  that  there  seemed  to  be  danger  of  com- 
plete capsizing,  or  at  any  rate  of  the  loss  of  the  masts. 
In  the  darkness  of  night  the  foam  sparkled  on  the 
ships  and  at  times  the  lightning  flashed  and  quivered 
on  the  waves.  Several  ships  had  already  met  with 
accidents,  in  getting  badly  damaged  by  running 
against  each  other,  and  in  some  the  constant  pump- 
ing out  of  water  was  made  necessary.  The  ship 
Good  Intent  ran  with  its  prow  into  the  stern  of  the 
Claudina,  on  which  there  was  a  company  of  the 
regiment  von  Knyphausen  under  Lieutenant  Baum, 
and  to  the  great  anguish  and  cry  of  the  crew  and 
troops  made  a  great  hole  over  the  cabin.  The  ship 
Speedwell,  on  which  there  was  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Block  with  the  Grenadier-Company  of  the  Prince 
Karl  regiment  drew  so  much  water  that  it  seemed 
doomed  to  sink.  Accordingly  signals  of  distress 
were  hoisted,  the  Commodore  signaled  the  fleet  to 
halt  and  by  means  of  several  boats  had  the  ship 
thoroughly  investigated.    It  became  evident  that 

11 


there  was  no  immediate  danger,  and  that,  with  con- 
stant use  of  the  pumps,  the  Speedwell  could  continue 
the  voyage. 

On  the  20th  of  May  a  strong  wind  suddenly  arose 
(simply  good  fresh  air  as  the  sailors  said),  but  the 
water  became  rough,  the  waves  struck  over  the  decks, 
and  all  fires  were  ordered  to  be  put  out;  porpoises 
made  their  appearance  in  great  numbers,  the  sight  of 
which  was  cheering  especially  to  the  officers  who  shot 
at  them;  little  was  it  supposed  by  them  then  that 
these  porpoises  were  but  the  forerunners  of  an 
approaching  storm.  On  the  25th  the  whole  sky 
became  clouded  over  with  dark  and  heavy  clouds, 
the  air  became  close  and  sultry,  and  the  Commodore 
had  shots  fired  frequently  as  a  signal  to  prevent  the 
scattering  of  the  ships.  The  wind  and  waves  became 
more  violent  from  hour  to  hour  during  the  night  of 
the  25th  to  the  26th,  and  on  Whitsunday  the  full 
force  of  the  storm  was  felt.  The  Commodore  gave 
the  signal  to  draw  in  all  sails  except  one  and  to 
remove  the  uppermost  parts  of  the  masts.  The 
ships  were  being  scattered  far  apart.  In  the  cabins 
all  articles,  though  tied  fast,  were  broken  loose  and 
were  thrown  helter-skelter,  the  occupants  likewise, 
many  with  bruised  limbs,  and  there  was  no  end  to  the 
spells  of  seasickness  and  of  misery  made  ridiculous. 
The  storm  was  ever  growing  worse.  On  the  second 
day  the  last  sail  was  drawn  in,  and  the  rudder  bound 
fast,  so  that  now  the  ship  was  left  to  its  fate.    The 

12 


raging  sea  was  playing  with  the  gigantic  structure  of 
the  ships  as  with  a  toy;  sailors  were  swallowed  up  by 
the  waters,  others  committed  suicide  and  soldiers 
who  ventured  to  go  on  deck  fell  down  unconscious 
because  of  the  force  of  the  waves.  Only  one  conso- 
lation remained,  namely,  the  clarified  atmosphere; 
but  on  the  third  day  of  Whitsuntide  dark  gloomy 
clouds  and  torrents  of  rain  darkened  the  whole  firma- 
ment, the  winds  seemed  to  be  let  loose,  sounding  like 
roaring  thunder,  all  nature  seemed  to  have  united  in 
bringing  to  young  America  a  terrible  funeral  feast. 
While  thousands  are  pleading  here  for  the  protection 
of  Heaven  a  furious  wrathful  indignation  rages  in  the 
American  pulpit  scattering  its  curses  and,  praying  to 
God  and  the  Savior,  dedicates  the  fleet  to  destruction. 
With  a  loud  and  deafening  roar  the  huge  waves 
wash  over  the  ships;  the  decks  and  every  port-hole 
had  to  be  made  extra  tight.  The  soldiers  were  lying 
in  the  lower  compartments  as  if  buried  alive  in  cof- 
fins, gasping  in  the  darkness  after  air  and  water; 
from  moment  to  moment  the  most  of  them,  quiet  and 
depressed,  expected  to  go  out  of  this  dark  night  into 
the  eternal  day  of  heaven.  Still  on  the  next  day  the 
storm  was  raging  and  the  heavy  sea  also  continued, 
and  this  threatened  to  break  the  ships  to  pieces;  but 
the  clouds  broke,  the  great  downfall  of  rain  ceased, 
the  air  became  clear,  the  wind  subsided,  and  in  the 
evening  at  10  o'clock  the  storm  had  stopped  entirely 
— only  the  seething  waters  were  still  roaring  and 

13 


placed  the  ships  in  even  greater  danger.  It  was  not 
until  the  morning  of  the  30th  that  this  violent  sea  had 
spent  its  fury;  sound  sleep  reinvigorated  exhausted 
nature;  and  when  the  soldiers  and  sailors  awoke  to 
the  beautiful  day  and  looked  out  upon  the  glittering, 
smooth,  quiet  sea,  and  saw  how  little  by  little  the 
ships  drew  closer  together,  they  each  and  everyone 
felt  as  if  they  had  awakened  to  a  new  day  of  creation. 
The  kitchen  fires  were  again  glowing,  the  kettles 
were  steaming,  the  provisions,  clothing  and  bed 
linen,  all  so  thoroughly  wet  through,  were  dried, 
everywhere  repairs  were  undertaken,  the  masts  were 
again  properly  set  up,  and  the  sails  spread;  on  the 
decks  praises  to  God  were  sung  with  fervent  feelings 
of  gratitude  in  devout  meetings  of  prayer. 

The  religious,  sympathetic  feelings  certainly  pre- 
vail in  the  deeply  rooted  piety  of  our  (Hessian) 
people.  It  was  customary  on  all  ships  that  as  often 
as  the  weather  and  the  motion  of  the  vessel  permitted 
it,  a  prayer  meeting  should  be  held  every  morning 
and  every  evening  and  a  preaching  service  on  Sun- 
days. Though  not  obliged  to  attend,  yet  one  could 
regularly  see  the  soldierly  religious  congregation 
assembled,  standing  with  uncovered  heads  and  filled 
with  devotion,  drawn  thither  by  the  inner  voice  of 
conscience.  If  the  sea  were  rough  then  one  could 
hear  the  people  from  their  resting  places  starting  up 
religious  hymns.  Communion  with  God  was  neces- 
sary for  the  soul;  more  urgently  did  the  present 

14 


remind  of  eternity,  and  the  very  recent  past  give 
grounds  for  gratitude.  The  ordinary  man  had  in 
lieu  of  other  songs  learned  to  sing  his  religious  hymns 
at  school,  and  he  sang  these  even  during  his  march 
against  the  enemy.  It  was  not  a  book  of  epic  poems 
that  accompanied  him  on  his  expeditions,  it  was  a 
small  book  of  prayer,  which  even  now  is  a  chief  con- 
stituent part  of  the  small  bookshops  of  the  Hessian 
peasant-folk,  so  precious  to  him  because  of  the  divine 
power  of  its  influence,  to  his  mind  a  pure,  old,  genu- 
ine "Jesus  wine. "  This  was  the  well  known  "Haber- 
manchen, "  the  epic  poem  and  the  private  chapel  of 
the  warrior  as  well  as  of  the  serving  man.  And  not 
alone  with  the  exalted  spectacle  of  divine  omnipo- 
tence on  the  furious  or  rapturous  sea — but  even  in 
the  camps  and  quarters  the  masses  of  soldiers  did  not 
neglect  public  worship  any  more  than  they  neglected 
a  simple  military  duty.  So  with  the  ancient  fear  of 
God  of  the  patriarchs  in  their  hearts  the  Hessian 
people  landed  on  the  soil  of  America. 

The  dispersion  of  the  fleet  had  obliged  a  halt  of 
three  days,  during  which  time  the  frigates  sailed  in  all 
directions,  collecting  the  ships  by  means  of  cannon 
shots,  yet  this  was  not  entirely  successful;  fifteen 
battered  ships  had  opened  their  sealed  orders  and 
had  sailed  on  ahead  to  Halifax,  the  goal  designated 
therein.  The  contrary  winds  prevented  the  advance 
of  the  fleet.  It  appeared  in  great  grandeur  on  the 
4th  of  June;  this  was  the  birthday  of  King  George  III. 

15 


In  unusual  splendor  did  the  day  shine,  on  all  vessels 
the  red  English  flag  was  waving,  on  all  war  ships  and 
all  frigates,  twenty-one  cannon  shots  resounded  at 
noon  and  the  transport  ships  were  only  too  glad  to 
follow  with  their  joyful  celebrations.  But  on  the 
ship  Unanimity  an  unfortunate  pistol  shot  was  fired 
in  the  morning.  A  captain  of  the  life-guards,  Count 
von  der  Lippe,  offended  one  of  his  subordinates, 
Lieutenant  Kleinschmidt,  because  he,  though  acci- 
dentally, had  caused  his  dog  to  give  a  cry  of  pain,  and 
with  coarse  words  demanded  an  immediate  pistol 
duel  without  witnesses.  The  lieutenant  gave  his  oppo- 
nent a  mortal  wound.  The  one  was  descended  from 
a  sovereign  house,  the  other  of  humble  civil  origin, 
yet  according  to  the  ancient  chivalrous  views,  which 
at  all  times  prevail  in  the  military  profession,  they 
were  equals.  The  court-martial,  also  in  consequence 
thereof,  acquitted  the  lieutenant.  This  is  the  pro- 
ceeding followed  in  accordance  with  all  proper  army 
regulations:  the  highest  officer  next  to  the  count  takes 
the  lieutenant's  sword,  places  a  sentinel  over  him, 
made  a  request,  by  means  of  a  speaking-trumpet,  of 
the  commodore,  whose  ship  fortunately  was  quite 
near,  for  a  clever  English  surgeon  (as  the  Hessian 
Army  generally  had  but  few  well  qualified  army 
surgeons)  and  then  takes  a  boat  to  the  ship  Elizabeth 
to  make  a  report  to  the  Lieutenant-General.  Im- 
mediately a  court-martial  is  ordered,  Lieutenant 
Kleinschmidt,  under  arrest,  is  taken  to  the  ship  of 

16 


the  staff  of  the  regiment,  and  the  staff-surgeon-major 
and  the  chief  staff-chaplain  were  sent  to  the  count. 
The  former  could  do  nothing  except  to  leave  the 
dying  man  to  the  services  of  the  latter.  In  prayer 
with  the  chaplain,  during  which  time  a  religious  ser- 
vice was  being  held  on  deck,  the  count  departed  this 
life.  Thereupon  the  adjutants  of  the  general  took  an 
inventory  of  the  effects  of  the  deceased,  an  autopsy 
was  held  to  determine  the  cause  of  death,  then, 
dressed  in  his  military  suit,  placed  into  a  hammock 
weighted  down  with  stone,  and  sewed  in  white  can- 
vas, without  any  further  formality,  his  body  was 
consigned  to  the  sea. 

Dense  fogs  had  fallen;  in  order  to  keep  the  ships 
together  frequent  shots  were  fired  from  the  commo- 
dore's ship;  the  danger  of  knocking  against  one 
another  was  unavoidable.  The  ships,  Happy  Jean- 
ette  and  Henrietta,  because  of  the  carelessness  on  the 
part  of  the  former,  ran  against  each  other  at  a  time 
when  the  winds  were  strong  and  the  sails  were  set 
full,  so  that  the  latter  very  nearly  capsized,  and, 
hard-pressed  by  the  former,  could  not  again  right 
itself.  On  all  faces  there  was  the  picture  of  death; 
and  panic  arose.  The  soldiers  of  the  regiment  von 
Ditfurth,  driven  to  despair,  endeavored  to  leap  upon 
the  Jeanette  and  those  of  the  regiment  Prince  Karl 
tried  to  save  their  lives  on  the  Happy,  and  only  with 
difficulty  were  they  prevented  from  doing  an  act  of 
foolhardiness  which  would  have  cost  the  lives  of 

17 


many.  After  repeated  knocks  the  two  ships  were 
finally  parted;  in  the  Henrietta  a  great  hole  had  been 
made — only  one  foot  lower  down  and  in  a  few  min- 
utes nothing  more  would  have  been  seen  of  the  ship. 
There  were  on  this  ship  Captain  von  Malsburg,  the 
Lieutenants  von  Ditfurth,  von  Malsburg,  von 
Bardeleben,  and  Ensign  von  Schachten. 

A  new  drama  took  place  soon  after  the  10th  of 
June.  A  frigate  brought  the  orders  to  set  all  ships 
and  cannon  in  defensive  condition;  an  East  Indian 
ship  had  reported  the  proximity  of  many  American 
privateers.  One  of  these  had  even  been  captured. 
The  Hessian  officers  thereupon  set  all  cannon  in  order 
and  arranged  for  the  distribution  of  the  men  in  the 
case  of  an  attack.  The  commodore  remained  now 
in  the  middle  of  the  fleet,  a  frigate  had  to  stay  at  the 
head  in  his  place,  and  the  others  had  to  be  all  the 
more  active,  everywhere  in  the  fleet,  as  commodore's 
messengers,  to  keep  up  the  order  and  to  search  every 
strange  vessel.  Even  the  transport  vessels  received 
orders  in  case  they  should  discover  a  strange  vessel 
to  display  a  red  flag  at  the  stern  of  the  ship  until  the 
commodore  by  means  of  a  similar  signal  has  indicated 
that  he  has  taken  cognizance  of  the  information. 
Almost  to  the  very  tops  of  the  masts  the  guards  on 
watch  could  be  seen.  More  frequently  than  ever  the 
stragglers  now  received  the  usual  warning  (always 
with  a  fine  of  money  imposed),  namely,  several 
sharp  cannon  shots  which  struck  close  to  them.    The 

18 


same  was  the  case  with  those  ships  which  sailed  too 
fast  in  advance  of  the  others.  As  soon  as  the  com- 
modore had  given  the  signal  by  means  of  the  flag- 
language,  one  could  see  the  marines  and  the  sailors 
on  the  men-of-war  practice  fully  armed  and  equipped 
and  with  such  great  zeal  carry  on  a  naval  battle 
exercise  as  certainly  cannot  be  shown  any  better  in  a 
real  battle.  By  means  of  bags  of  sand  the  decks 
were  protected  against  cannon  shot  from  the  side; 
back  of  these,  men  with  muskets;  at  different  places 
the  auxiliary  troops;  at  the  middle  mast  the  chief 
sentry;  between  the  masts  a  sort  of  pile  structure  for 
defense  was  built  up  to  accommodate  smaller  cannon 
and  soldiers;  with  uncommon  dexterity  the  artillery 
was  managed ;  and  at  last  the  sailors  with  lances  and 
other  like  weapons  hurried  on  deck  to  drill  for  defense 
in  order  to  prevent  the  enemy  from  mounting  the 
ship. 

With  many  a  change  of  wind  and  weather,  of  calm 
and  turbulent  sea,  of  joyous  or  anxious  feeling,  the 
great  sandbanks  of  New  Foundland  were  reached  on 
the  20th  of  June. 

A  mighty  sea  of  breakers  indicates  the  location  of 
these  sandbanks;  upon  their  precipitous  rocky  walls 
covered  forty  fathoms  high  by  the  sea,  the  restless 
ocean  waves  are  beating  and  are  with  a  like  force 
repelled.  The  winds  go  howling  over  them;  dense, 
cold  fogs  always  cover  these  regions.  In  order  to 
warm  the  ships  against  colliding,  the  drums,  foghorns 

19 


and  ship  bells  were  resounding  day  and  night  on  all 
ships.  In  order  to  prevent  their  being  separated 
too  far  from  one  another  a  cannon  shot  was  fired 
every  half  hour  on  the  commodore's  ship.  Never- 
theless many  ships  drifted  from  their  course;  four- 
teen of  them  were  found  by  a  fire  ship  and  conducted 
to  Halifax.  For  three  or  four  days  the  ships  re- 
mained in  the  vicinity  of  the  sandbanks.  The  many 
phenomena  seen  there  increased  the  astonishment  of 
the  ordinary  man  concerning  the  wonders  of  the  sea, 
which  had  here  appeared  to  him:  the  whale,  swim- 
ming majestically;  and  the  spongy  mass  polyps, 
scarcely  with  the  organization  of  a  living  creature; 
multitudes  of  porpoises,  which  pursued  with  amusing 
leaps  out  of  the  water  the  course  of  the  flying  fish, 
and  the  latter  then  fell  down  upon  the  decks,  where 
they  found  a  more  certain  death;  shoals  of  dolphins, 
which  followed  the  ships  with  their  glittering  colors, 
and  often  were  reached  by  the  harpoon  or  other 
weapon  thrown  at  them;  in  the  dark  night  countless 
brilliant,  fiery  stripes,  generated  by  a  school  of  fishes 
swiftly  passing  through  the  waters;  turtles,  caught 
for  the  tables  of  the  gentlemen;  whole  swarms  of 
wild  ducks;  above  all  the  enormous  quantity  of  cod 
fish,  which  had  caused  several  fleets  of  French, 
British  and  Norwegian  fishing  smacks  to  be  gathered 
here,  and  now  enriched  the  kitchens  of  the  army 
fleet. 

On  the  25th  of  June  the  sandbanks  were  left 
20 


behind  and  from  the  damp,  biting  cold,  against  which 
even  the  protection  of  a  fur  mantle  was  of  no  avail, 
the  expedition  experienced  a  warm,  beautiful  day 
and  soon  again  many  changes  of  weather.  The 
great  number  of  whales  now  to  be  seen  indicated  the 
proximity  of  the  coast  of  Nova  Scotia.  A  green  fir 
tree,  which  was  floating  on  the  waters,  brought  still 
more  joyful  tidings.  The  ever  diminishing  depth  of 
the  sea  on  July  3rd  gave  rise  to  the  hope  that  yet 
before  evening  land  would  come  into  sight,  but  as 
heavy  fogs  and  strong  winds  set  in  it  became  neces- 
sary to  avoid  the  probable  dangers  by  returning  to 
the  deeper  ocean.  Ever  following  a  course  of 
approaching  and  then  leaving  the  coast,  and  experi- 
encing another  heavy  thunder  storm,  which  tore  the 
sails  to  pieces,  it  was  with  indescribable  joy  that  the 
coast  of  Nova  Scotia  came  to  view  on  the  7th  at 
break  of  day.  As  soon  as  the  anchoring  place  of 
Halifax  was  reached  the  commodore  signaled  to  the 
fleet  to  gather  and  sail  before  the  wind.  Now  those 
ships  came  along  and  rejoined  the  fleet  which  had 
become  lost  in  the  fogs  and  had  anchored  several 
days  previously  in  the  harbor.  They  greeted  the 
commodore  with  fifteen  shots  and  he  replied  with 
eleven.  From  these  ships  much  information  was 
gained,  and  especially  did  they  bring  joyful  news 
about  the  ship  Malaga,  which  had  become  totally 
lost  to  all  appearances  in  the  Whitsuntide  storm,  and 
which  with  all  on  board,  a  company  of  the  life-guards, 

21 


under  Captain  Waldenberg,  had  already  been  given 
up  as  lost.  Its  bowsprit  was  gone  and  it  had  suffered 
considerable  damage  too,  but  it  had  had  the  good 
fortune  to  bring  to  Halifax  a  French  ship  which  was 
carrying  munitions  of  war  to  the  Americans.  A 
reward  of  2,000  pounds  sterling  had  been  granted  to 
the  commander  and  his  troops — but  in  course  of 
time  this  was  paid  out  to  the  commanders  of  the 
English  men-of-war.  Having  joined  the  great 
British  fleet  it  had  followed  the  commander  in  chief, 
General  Howe,  to  the  new  rendezvous  of  the  squad- 
ron and  of  the  army. 

Howe  had  already  begun  his  career  with  blunders 
and  perplexities.  He  had  been  selected  through  an 
unfortunate  vote  conducted  by  his  party  and  so 
was  entrusted  with  an  affair,  the  nature  of  which 
demanded,  in  the  midst  of  the  transactions  of  con- 
siderate love,  the  speediest  progress  of  arms  and  the 
greatest  decision  of  character.  Instead  of  leaving 
Boston,  the  firebrand  of  the  war,  so  important 
because  of  its  location,  either  not  at  all,  or  at  such 
an  early  time  that  the  state  of  New  York  which  was 
still  chiefly  loyal  could  be  saved,  he  started  for 
Halifax  so  inopportunely,  that  meanwhile  the  power 
of  the  Congress  was  made  felt  in  New  York,  and 
prepared  there  the  strongest  defence;  Howe  finally 
made  Rhode  Island  his  destination,  and  changed  his 
mind  during  the  trip,  and  at  last  aimed  for  New 
York,  when  the  commodore,  William  Hotham,  col- 

22 


lected  before  Halifax  the  previously  given  sealed 
orders  from  the  several  ship  captains  and  had  desig- 
nated Rhode  Island  as  the  new  destination,  a  frigate 
brought  the  again  changed  instruction  to  fix  as  ren- 
dezvous the  lighthouse  of  Sandy  Hook. 

The  joy  of  immediate  landing  after  so  long  a  voy- 
age, which  had  even  become  highly  disagreeable 
towards  the  close,  was  now  gone.  The  various 
changes  as  to  their  destination,  the  unfavorable 
weather,  poor  sailing  vessels,  which  oftentimes  had 
to  be  taken  in  tow  by  the  war  vessels,  and  the  diffi- 
culty to  keep  together  such  a  fleet,  always  in  danger 
of  hostile  attack,  all  combined  to  lengthen  the  voy- 
age to  100  days,  which  was  even  at  that  time  very 
rare,  and  now  could  be  of  incalculable  advantage  to 
the  cause  of  the  Americans.  With  an  unfavorable 
wind  the  fleet  started;  the  eyes  of  everybody  were 
directed  to  the  green  coast  and  the  undulating  hilly 
background.  During  the  night  the  sharp  glow  of 
the  Halifax  lighthouse  accompanied  the  troops, 
until,  like  a  star  gradually  fading  away,  it  at  last 
disappeared  from  view. 

On  the  evening  of  the  8th  of  July  the  fleet  halted. 
The  ship  Spring  had,  by  means  of  a  signal  of  distress 
and  four  cannon  shots,  indicated  that  it  was  in  the 
greatest  danger.  All  men-of-war  approached  it. 
They  learned  that  the  sailors  had  mutinied,  where- 
upon these  were  arrested,  and  then  exchanged  for 
others.    With  a  changeable  wind  the  fleet  continued, 

23 


now  tacking,  now  sailing.  To  one  of  the  ships  the 
threatening,  gigantic  cone  of  a  water  spout  ap- 
proached, yet  it  escaped  the  danger  of  being  over- 
come by  its  great  deluge  of  water;  elsewhere  the  so- 
called  St.  Elmo's  Fire  appeared  at  the  tops  of  the 
masts,  feared  as  an  apparition  of  a  warning  spirit; 
then  on  the  night  of  the  11th  to  the  12th  of  July  the 
sky  and  the  ocean  met,  the  spectacle  of  a  most  fear- 
ful thunder  storm.  The  ships  kept  at  a  great  dis- 
tance from  each  other,  drew  in  their  sails,  and  while 
generally  on  the  commodore's  ship  the  light  signal 
was  burning,  now  on  all  ships  the  lanterns  could  be 
seen  unlit,  vibrating  in  the  deepest  darkness;  the 
clouds  at  night  gave  forth  a  most  violent  hailstorm; 
the  terrible  waves  roared  and  piled  themselves  up 
into  great  fiery-looking  mountains,  the  lightning 
flashed  and  quivered  in  the  air,  now  and  then  splinter- 
ing the  top  of  a  mast.  With  thunder  on  all  sides  and 
fearful  in  the  expectation  of  the  approaching  storm, 
the  soldiers  sank  down  in  silent  resignation  and  the 
crew  remained  during  the  whole  night  on  deck  in 
anxious  agitation  and  work.  In  the  morning  there 
arose  a  strong  wind  which  tore  to  pieces  the  sails  on 
several  ships,  but  it  also  dispersed  the  storm  clouds. 
Then,  on  the  14th,  a  calm  set  in,  and  from  the  ships 
there  resounded  the  hymns  of  the  Sunday  services, 
but  dense  fog  and  continuous  rains  occurred  and  the 
vibrations  of  the  ship  became  in  the  calm  ever 
greater.    All  at  once  there  was  a  great  outcry  in  the 

24 


fleet:  Two  ships,  the  Hartley  (with  Knyphausen 
soldiers  under  Captain  von  Biesenrod)  and  Lord 
Sandwich  (on  board  of  which  was  Colonel  von 
Wurmb  and  a  part  of  the  life  guards)  could  be  seen 
colliding  because  of  the  great  waves,  causing  each 
other  considerable  damage,  and,  thereupon,  the  ship 
Henrietta,  with  the  Union,  (upon  which  there  was 
Colonel  von  Herringen  and  a  section  of  the  regiment 
of  Losberg)  could  be  seen  likewise  driven  against 
each  other.  Alternately  heaving  and  sinking  the 
upper  ship  always  appeared  as  if  threatening  destruc- 
tion to  the  lower  one,  until  the  Union  hoisted  out  a 
boat  which,  then,  by  means  of  a  rope  thrown  over  the 
bowsprit,  pulled  the  Henrietta  away.  After  a  few 
agreeable  days  there  followed  on  the  19th  of  July 
very  stormy  weather,  the  sea  was  in  a  most  furious 
rage,  sails  ripped  apart,  but  the  ever  agile  activity  of 
the  sailors  at  the  time  of  such  accidents,  was  always 
ready  with  instant  relief  and  reparation.  As  a  spider 
that  moves  about  as  swiftly  as  the  arrow  in  her  web, 
so  the  sailors  were  going  up  and  down  the  rope  lad- 
ders of  the  masts  and  through  the  rigging,  hanging 
only  at  their  feet,  tieing  the  tackle  and  binding  the 
sails.  Then  there  followed  days  and  nights  too  hot  to 
be  endured,  with  heavy  thunder  storms;  sleepless  and 
famishing  for  a  little  fresh  air,  the  soldiers  came  even 
in  the  night  time  on  deck;  the  longing  for  the  land 
grew  hour  by  hour. 
This  most  tedious  voyage  had  given  full  play  to  the 
25 


development  of  diseases.  The  most  careful  clean- 
liness, the  daily  scrubbing  of  the  decks,  the  frequent 
cleaning  of  the  cabins  and  rooms,  the  washing  and 
the  disinfecting  with  steaming  vinegar,  the  pumping 
in  of  fresh  air,  and  the  airing  of  the  bedding  on  decks: 
all  this  belonged  to  the  general  health  regimen,  yet 
the  effect  of  the  restrained,  often  unnatural  physical 
exercises,  and  improper  food,  was  not  to  be  sup- 
pressed. While  to  many  a  Hessian  the  ship  became 
his  first  cradle,  without  granting  unto  him  in  its 
hasty  course  a  place  which  he  could  call  his  birth- 
place, there  were  others,  who,  deceased,  were  buried 
at  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  the  Ensign  von  Stedel  of  the 
Regiment  von  Donop,  among  the  first  victims. 
Scurvy  was  developed  as  a  result  of  tainted  humors, 
for  which  the  drinking  of  sea  water  was  used  as  a 
medicine,  and  also  the  chewing  of  tobacco,  which  the 
Hessians  had  learned  from  the  sailors  and  later  kept 
up  as  a  habit  in  their  own  homes.  The  disease 
reigned  supreme,  however,  and  many  individuals 
suffered  for  a  long  time  yet  after  the  disembarkation 
from  paralyzed  limbs,  and  some  even  died.  There 
was  a  lack  of  the  most  necessary  things.  The  food 
supplies  provided  for  by  the  officers  themselves  were 
exhausted,  even  the  rations  of  zwieback  were  cut 
down  to  only  17  loth  (8M>  oz.)  a  day.  The  water, 
which  in  the  whole  fleet  had  been  stored  in  new  oaken 
casks,  became  undrinkable  and  finally  putrid.  The 
beds  of  the  soldiers  were  broken  up  in  the  storms, 


camp  kettles  and  canteens  were  smashed,  tents, 
clothing  apparel,  even  the  cartridges  had  been 
destroyed  by  the  rats,  which  finally  had  even  gnawed 
through  the  water  casks;  all  of  these  troubles  more 
or  less  were  suffered  by  most  of  the  transport  ships. 

Meanwhile  a  much  wished  for  wind  filled  the  sails, 
and  the  ever  more  and  more  anxious,  but  daily  dis- 
appointed hope,  now  at  last  to  see  New  York,  grew 
upon  its  wings;  yet  the  wind  on  the  30th  of  July 
became  so  strong  that  the  sails  had  to  be  drawn  in, 
the  rudders  bound  fast,  and  the  ships  left  to  the 
shattering  blows  of  the  waves,  which  roaringly 
dashed  and  resounded  about  the  ships.  As  soon  as 
the  storm  had  subsided  the  commodore  by  means  of 
the  cannon  shots  gathered  together  the  scattered 
fleet  and  gave  instructions  for  a  changed  course  in 
order  to  avoid  being  driven  against  the  near  coast, 
but,  unfortunately,  the  ships  came  into  a  strong  con- 
trary current,  the  water  again  became  high  and  tur- 
bulent, it  rained  and  lightened  incessantly,  masts 
toppled  over,  as  was  the  case  on  the  Friendship  which 
had  on  board  200  members  of  the  Regiment  Crown 
Prince,  besides  Colonel  von  Hachenberg.  Sailors  and 
ship  carpenters  found  everywhere  enough  to  do,  until 
finally  a  favorable  strong  wind  on  the  4th  of  August 
fortunately  blew  the  fleet  out  of  the  current.  On  the 
10th  of  August  the  fleet  offered  an  excellent  and  very 
hopeful  appearance  as  it,  in  a  most  speedy  wind,  with 
high  towering  sails,  was  cutting  its  course  through  the 

27 


little  waves.  On  the  11th,  at  the  hour  of  noon  the 
happy  signals  indicating  the  sight  of  land  were  to  be 
seen.  Soon  the  charming  coast  of  Long  Island  came 
into  the  view  of  all  and  great  shouts  of  joy  were  wafted 
across  the  waters  towards  it  from  this  swimming  city. 
Carefully  did  the  fleet  tack  during  the  night  because 
the  water  was  becoming  ever  more  shallow.  On  the 
next  morning,  the  12th  of  August,  an  English  squad- 
ron of  24  vessels  was  seen  from  the  ocean  and  this, 
after  a  few  hours,  united  with  the  fleet,  following 
the  mutual  greeting  by  means  of  a  definite  number 
of  shots.  Among  the  new  arrivals  was  also  Major 
General  von  Mirbach  with  the  troops  which  also 
belonged  to  the  first  Hessian  Division,  and  which 
did  not  take  to  the  transport  ships  at  Bremerlehe 
until  four  weeks  after  the  embarkation  of  Heister, 
and  then  had  waited  for  a  favorable  wind. 

Now  the  English  flag  was  unfurled  on  all  ships; 
Sandy  Hook  came  into  sight  with  its  white  lighthouse, 
immediately  thereupon  Staten  Island,  and  a  veritable 
painting  spread  itself  out  before  the  eyes  of  these 
newcomers,  most  charming  after  so  many  dangers  had 
been  encountered  and  after  so  long  a  denial  of  a  glance 
on  the  beautiful  smiling  landscapes,  teeming  with 
inhabitants,  exalted  and  majestic,  the  shores  studded 
with  troops,  the  tents  of  a  friendly  and  a  hostile  camp, 
of  a  forest  of  masts  of  500  ships,  and  the  many  hun- 
dred boats  which  so  vigilantly  were  watching  the 
hostile  shores — here  a  belligerent  power  assembled, 

28 


such  as  America  had  never  seen  before  in  order  to 
have  a  combat,  which  in  the  destiny  of  the  world 
gave  its  immeasurable  decision. 

Extract  from  the  Diary  of  the  German  Poet  and  Adven- 
turer, J.  G.  Seume,  a  Hessian  Soldier 
and  Participator  on  the  Voyage 

On  the  English  transporter  we  were  pressed  and 
packed  like  salted  herrings.  To  save  room  the  deck, 
low  as  it  was,  had  been  partitioned  off,  and  we  lay- 
instead  of  in  hammocks,  in  these  bunks,  one  row 
above  the  other.  The  deck  was  so  low  that  a  grown 
man  could  not  stand  upright,  and  the  bunks  not  high 
enough  to  sit  in.  These  bunks  were  intended  to 
hold  six  men  each  but  after  four  had  entered,  the 
remaining  two  could  only  find  room  by  pressing  in. 
The  situation  was,  especially  in  warm  weather, 
decidedly  not  cool:  for  one  man  to  turn  from  one  side 
to  the  other  alone  was  absolutely  impossible,  and  to 
lie  on  one's  back  was  an  equal  impossibility.  The 
straightest  way  and  the  hardest  edge  were  necessary. 
After  having  roasted  and  sweated  sufficiently  on  one 
side,  the  man  who  had  the  place  to  the  extreme  right 
would  call:  round  about  turn!  and  all  would  simul- 
taneously turn  to  the  other  side,  then  having  received 
quantum  sabis  on  this  one  the  man  to  the  left  would 
give  the  same  signal.  The  maintainance  was  on  an 
equal  scale.    Today  bacon  and  peas — peas  and  bacon 

29 


tomorrow.  Once  in  a  while  this  menu  was  broken 
by  porridge  or  peeled  barley,  and  as  an  occasional 
great  feast  by  pudding.  This  pudding  was  made  of 
musty  flour,  half  salt  and  half  sweet  water  and  of 
very  ancient  mutton  suet.  The  bacon  could  have 
been  from  four  to  five  years  old,  was  black  at  both 
outer  edges,  became  yellow  a  little  farther  on  and 
was  white  only  in  the  very  centre.  The  salted  beef 
was  in  a  very  similar  condition.  The  biscuits  were 
often  full  of  worms  which  we  had  to  swallow  in  lieu 
of  butter  or  dripping  if  we  did  not  want  to  reduce 
our  scanty  rations  still  more.  Besides  this  they 
were  so  hard  that  we  were  forced  to  use  canon  balls 
in  breaking  them  into  eatable  pieces.  Usually  our 
hunger  did  not  allow  us  to  soak  them,  and  often 
enough  we  had  not  the  necessary  water  to  do  so. 
We  were  told  (and  not  without  some  probability  of 
truth)  that  these  biscuits  were  French,  and  that  the 
English,  during  the  Seven  Years'  War  had  taken 
them  from  French  ships.  Since  that  time  they  had 
been  stored  in  some  magazine  in  Portsmouth  and 
that  they  were  now  being  used  to  feed  the  Germans 
who  were  to  kill  the  French  under  Rochambeau  and 
Lafayette  in  America — if  God  so  wotted.  But 
apparently  God  did  not  seem  to  fancy  this  idea  much. 
The  heavily  sulphured  water  lay  in  deep  corrup- 
tion. After  a  barrel  had  been  hoisted  up  and  opened, 
the  deck  was  pervaded  by  a  conglomeration  of  very 
evil  odours  indeed.    It  was  full  of  worms  as  long  as 

30 


a  finger  and  had  to  be  filtered  through  a  cloth  before 
it  could  be  drunken.  And  even  then  it  was  danger- 
ous to  breathe  above  it.  Rum  and  sometimes  a 
little  strong  beer  helped  to  make  it  somewhat  more 
drinkable. 

Herded  together  in  this  manner,  forced  to  breathe 
putrid  air,  to  eat  bad  food  and  to  drink  foul  water, 
these  youths,  old  men,  students,  merchants  and 
peasants,  many  of  them  but  insufficiently  clothed, 
were  tossed  about  for  months  upon  the  Atlantic. 

Many  of  the  sufferings  undergone  by  us  on  this 
voyage  were  no  doubt  unavoidable,  and  many  of  the 
recruits  were  used  to  a  hard  life — nevertheless,  many 
of  the  things  they  endured  were  the  result  of  an 
intentional  deficiency  of  care  taking  and  of  a  great 
greed. 

What  can  be  said  of  the  British  Quartermasters- 
Department  which  sent  these  people  to  sea  without 
proper  food  and  drink?  What  of  the  Duke  of  Bruns- 
wick who  sent  his  subject  to  Canada  without  durable 
boots  or  stockings  and  without  overcoats?  Often 
enough  have  men  borne  a  hard  life  cheerfully, 
because  they  knew  the  why  and  wherefore,  but  these 
poor  fellows  suffered  on  account  of  a  quarrel  which 
was  not  their  own,  suffered  only  that  their  masters 
might  pay  their  debts  or  enjoy  new  pleasures. 


si----' 

•••    .    . 
»       ••   • 

•    «  •••  • 


••• :  ;.' ;  '•  •  ;  ;  * 


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